Editor’s Note
This article outlines the objectives of the 2024 World Compliance Forum in Costa Rica, highlighting its role as a key platform for training and analysis in the fight against financial crime. The event is organized by FELADE, the UN University for Peace, and other partners.
San José, Costa Rica, July 2024.
Protecting organizations from money laundering, fraud, financial crimes, and the financing of organized crime are among the ultimate goals of the third edition of the “World Compliance Forum” in Costa Rica.
The WCF provides a window for analysis and training for compliance officials from the public and private sectors. It is organized by the Foundation for the Study of Asset Laundering (FELADE), the United Nations University for Peace (UPAZ), and this year, in conjunction with the Costa Rican Institute on Drugs (ICD).
The ICD records a 10.5% increase in the number of Suspicious Transaction Reports received as of June this year, compared to those registered in the first half of 2023.
said Fernando Ramírez Serrano, Director General of the ICD.
As of June this year, 315 Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) have been recorded, compared to 285 in the same period last year.
According to the President of FELADE, José Quesada,
Costa Rica, like many Latin American countries, faces a complex and challenging landscape of financial crimes and financing of organized crime. Latin America is today one of the most violent regions in the world, with large amounts of illicit income being integrated into the formal economy.
Advances in artificial intelligence, money laundering in the metaverse, identity theft, and data leaks add to these challenges.
detailed Francisco Rojas Aravena, Rector of UPAZ.
Among the 50 most violent cities in the world, 39 are in Latin America, 7 in the United States, and 4 in South Africa. In 2022, in the city of Colima, Mexico, homicide rates were recorded as high as 182 people per 100,000 inhabitants. That year, Costa Rica recorded a rate of 12.5 per 100,000 inhabitants, and in 2023, this number rose to 17 (source: Statista).
More than 350 people from regulated, public, and private sectors who wish to update and put their knowledge into practice will participate in this event. The conferences and panels of the “World Compliance Forum Costa Rica” will be led by more than 30 specialists from the United States, Mexico, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, and Argentina.
The most relevant conferences will address topics such as Artificial Intelligence applied to risk management compliance systems, continuous auditing and analytics; prediction, detection of fraud, digital threats and vulnerabilities; virtual assets (crypto-assets) and the landscape of their legality, as well as money laundering in the metaverse.
Additionally, “offline” world topics will be addressed, such as strengthening institutions and supervisory bodies; compliance or “Compliance” in the public sector; International Sanctions, dual-use goods and PFADM; supervision and challenges of Non-Designated Financial Activities (NDFA); challenges in technology implementation; and the criminal profile of the white-collar criminal.
The World Compliance Forum will be held on August 8 and 9, 2024.
